Tensions
by closetcannons
Summary: One shot based on Hogwarts Mystery. Tensions run high between the group of friends as they question one another's trust and intuition. Arah breaks down and finds comfort in a friend.


**A/N**

**Hey guys! So this is a bit new. This is a oneshot I wrote based off of the Hogwarts Mystery game. The story and characters has really captivated me and I was inspired to dive deeper into both the story and relationship development. Portions of this oneshot are borrowed directly from the game, which I do not own. With that said, enjoy!**

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**Year 5: The Library**

Arah tucked her long silver hair behind her ear as she struggled to focus on the text in front of her. She had read the same sentence over and over again. If Rowan asked her to recite what she had studied, she wouldn't even know what to say.

She had to find the vault portrait, but where to even begin? Professor Rakepick had barely given her any information of what she needed to look for, let alone where to start. The stress of it all felt like a heavy stone, sitting on her chest. There were better things she could be doing. Like finding her missing brother or stopping this damn curse from effecting any other students. Not to mention O.W.L.S were coming up and she still had no idea what she wanted to do with her life.

Charlie playfully nudged her arm, bringing her back to reality.

"Stop that tapping, will you? Pince will come over and hex you silent if you keep that up."

"Sorry..." she muttered, steadying her quill hand from tapping on the desk. Stealing a quick glance, she saw Madam Pince surveying the library like a hawk. Luckily, her steely eyes were glued on Tonks and Tulip putting on a very poor performance of studying, snickering behind their books at some unheard joke.

"Arah, are you alright?" Penny asked, concern reflected in her eyes.

Her friends would be blind if they didn't notice the toll the year had taken her. Her tanned skin looked a bit paler these days, her freckles seemed to have disappeared. Shadows dipped below her eyes, making her look tired. And she _was_ tired. She couldn't help but feel like these curses were her responsibility. It was up to her to break these curses and finish her brothers work. Maybe she would find more answers to Jacob's disappearance in the process.

"I'm fine." Arah muttered, swallowing the lie. "Where the hell is Jae? He's the last one we're waiting on..." she said changing the subject, eyes scanning the area.

As if on queue, she spots Jae slumping into the library, hood over his head and hands shoved deep in his pockets. With a quick swish sound, an invisible wind causes his hood to fly off his head.

"Oi!"

"SHHH!" Madam Pince spits disapprovingly.

If Arah wasn't in the mood she was in, she would have laughed. But annoyance at his careless attitude jaded her with impatience.

"Sorry I'm late, had a little prior 'appointment' I had to take care of... if ya know what I mean." Jae whispered, winking at Arah.

She ignored him. Today was not the day to reprimand Jae for his illegal activities he chose to partake in. Arah shifted her thoughts back to her friends gathered at the table. All eyes were on her as they waited for her explanation as to why she had asked them to meet there in the first place.

Clearing her throat, she gathered their attention.

"Thanks for your help everyone. I need to find any information I can about the vault portrait."

"How do you know this vault portrait even exists?" Jae questioned.

"I mean, I don't know for certain. Rakepick asked me to look for it-"

"Pfft. Rakepick..." Tulip scoffed under her breath. Arah's patience began to grow thin as her friends doubted her without even giving her a chance to explain herself.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bill challenged.

"It means Rakepick is a liar and a manipulator who only cares about helping herself and furthering her legacy."

"Rakepick took the time to teach me everything she knows to help me become a curse-breaker. She's even gotten me a job at Gringotts after I graduate." Bill defended.

A ping of sadness struck Arah at the mention of Bill graduating. Merlin, she would miss him after he would leave Hogwarts this year. He had not only become her mentor, but also one of her closest friends.

"And I'm sure she's doing it out of the goodness of her heart." Tulip rolled her eyes in sarcasm.

"Don't talk to my brother like he's stupid." Charlie said hotly.

"I don't mean to cause trouble, but Tulip is right. Rakepick can't be trusted." Ben whispered nervously.

"Says the traitor who attacked Arah." Rowan muttered.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Someone made me do that!"

"Are you going to attack me now too?" Rowan spat angrily.

"STOP FIGHTING!" Barnaby yelled, breaking apart the bickering group.

"Sshhhhhhhh!" Madam Pince hushed angrily.

The whole library fell uncomfortably silent as all the students looked up from their books and parchment over at their table. The group of friends awkwardly pretend to study, until the sounds of quills scribbling and paper turning began to fill the room once more.

Barnaby's cheeks flushed in embarrassment as he sank back into his chair. Arah nudged him under the table with her foot, shooting him a small smile.

_Thank you,_ she mouthed silently. He smiled meekly, looking down into his lap.

The friends kept the theatrics up until they were sure the attention was no longer on them.

"I was rather enjoying that, honestly." Jae smirked, leaning back in his chair and putting his feet on the table. With another swoosh sound, an invisible force pushed his chair back, causing his feet to fall on the floor with a thud. He glanced back at Madam Pince and saw her sliding her wand back in her robes, glaring at him with the shadow of a smirk on her lips.

"Bloody bat." he muttered under his breath.

Arah couldn't help but smile, thankful for the distraction of the previous bickering. She hated to see her friends rowing like that.

"Me too. Nothing like a bit of drama to break up the cycle of studying and detention." Tonks snickered.

"Everyone is just stressed over their O.W.L.S and N.E.W.T.S." Andre reasoned, patting Arah's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

"Andre is right. Let's just help Arah find any information we can on the vault portrait." Bill agreed.

"Even though Arah only seems to come around when she wants our help..." Rowan mumbled.

"What?" Arah blinked, taken aback by the words that had come from her best friend's mouth. They echoed in her ears, amplifying the hurt that flooded her. Her throat constricted, fighting back emotions.

"Please, Rowan. No more fighting. Its like I'm back home, and I don't want to think about being back home right now." Barnaby pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Barnaby." Rowan apologized, biting her lip. "Sorry, Arah."

Pressing her lips together to stop from trembling, she swallowed hard. Bowing her head low, trying to hide the devastation that she felt.

"It's fine...with everything going on, I know I haven't been around much." she whispered, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

"I didn't mean anything... I just... I meant, we just _miss_ you." Rowan stammered nervously.

"Let's just see what we can find about the vault portrait..." Arah suggested, desperate to get the attention off of her.

It seemed that everyone got the hint, as the group of friends awkwardly began to shuffle silently from the table, leaving Arah alone with her books.

The words on the pages blurred behind the tears that threatened to spill past her hazel eyes. Quickly wiping her face, she hid any evidence of sadness on her sleeves.

Rowan had been her first friend she had made at Hogwarts. Is that really how she felt about her? Maybe they were growing apart... Her stomach sank as the terrifying thought drifted in her head. Did _everyone_ think that of her?

She looked up and saw her friends weaving between isles and bookcases, searching for anything they could find on the vault portraits for her. She couldn't ask for better friends. She certainly would never want them to feel like she was using them...

Pushing her feelings aside, she began to attempt to distract herself in the books splayed out on the table. Learning about the creation of portraits, famous artists, the history of portrait making, but nothing that could help find the vault portrait. Frustration plagued her as she rubbed her temples in an attempt to fight off the headache that was beginning to form. It was no use.

For all she knew, the vault portrait could be hidden in this very room.

As Arah continued to desperately pour herself into the books, slowly, her friends began to join the table one by one.

"I found mentions of people bringing portraits to Hogwarts over the years but the details were scarce, I'm sorry Arah. I read every book I could find on portraits."

Arah had a feeling Rowan was apologizing for more than just her lack of information she was able to find.

"I couldn't find a single thing about the Dragon portrait we found in the Forest, last year. Let alone a vault portrait..." Charlie chimed in apologetically.

Arah sighed in frustration. "I don't know what to do." she could feel the stone on her chest get heavier with the stress of it all. She cursed herself for feeling her throat tighten with emotions again, never succeeding to shake the feeling off in the first place.

Everyone looked at one another in silence, waiting for someone to come up with some brilliant idea of where they could look next. Maybe they had overlooked some sort of detail or direction.

"What about asking the elves?" Jae suggested.

"The house-elves in the kitchens? How would they know anything about a vault portrait?" Arah questioned, irritably.

"They might not, but they've been at Hogwarts longer than we have." he shrugged nonchalantly.

The house-elves surely wouldn't know anything, would they? It would be a waste of time- another dead end, she was sure of it. At this rate, she'd be interrogating puffskeins by the end of this.

"Sure Jae, and maybe I'll ask the gargoyles too while I'm at it, yeah?" she hissed, immediately regretting the harshness that arose from her tone.

"They know more than you might think, Arah. I'm only trying to help."

Guilt arose as she saw Jae's face fall. Arah looked around at her friends and saw them staring at her with a mixture of shock and concern at the way she had spoken. They never had seen her so abrasive.

"I'm sorry Jae... I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask. We have detention tonight, I can ask and see what they have to say." Silence hovered thickly in the air, feeling as if it could suffocate her. The room began to feel smaller. She want to leave. "I gotta go...I'll see you then." she stammered.

Quickly, Arah began to gather her things, shoving books and papers in her bag with little care. All she wanted to do was get away. Warmth flooded her cheeks as she could feel the eyes on her as she packed. Vision beginning to blur once more with tears.

"Arah, please. Let us help you." Penny reached out gently.

"Thanks for your help everyone. Sorry to waste your time." she said shakily, before storming out towards the door. Hot tears began to roll down her cheeks as she walked briskly down the hall, ignoring the strange looks students gave her as she rushed by.

_What was wrong with her_? She never considered herself to be an emotional person, but the weight on her chest felt unbearable- like she couldn't breathe. At this point, she wasn't even sure where she was going. She just wanted to get far away from it all. From the curses, the mysterious R, her friends, this school. She wanted to be alone.

Seeing a promising empty stairwell, Arah turned sharply, climbing the unknown stairs into an unfamiliar empty hallway. Looking around to make sure the coast was clear, she leaned her back against the cold granite and slid down the wall until she sat on the hard floor, burying her head into her arms.

For the first time in a long time, she cried. Cried for her brother. Cried for her Mum and Dad. Cried for the students affected by the curses, for the inconvenience she was to her friends and how she had put them in danger time and time again. For the responsibility she had burdened herself with. Muffled sobs escaped her as she wept, deafening her from the footsteps that had followed her unknowingly.

"Arah?" Barnaby whispered softly.

With a quick jolt, Arah lifted her head to see her friend standing timidly in the hallway. A mixture of concern and compassion etched in his green eyes. She didn't care that he saw her in this state. A sense of comfort washed over her as she realized how badly she didn't want to be alone in this moment. Cautiously, he walked over to her and sat quietly next to her, not saying anything.

Arah sniffed into her arms, hiccuping in breaths as she calmed herself. The whole time, Barnaby didn't say a word. He sat by her side, head leaning back on the cool stone wall. He hated to see Arah like this. It was clear to him that something was off. He had noticed it as soon as he saw her in the library. After she had left so abruptly, he knew he needed to check on her. In the two years he had known her, he had never seen her like this before. Arah was usually so calm and collected, she could see the good in any situation, and always knew how to crack a joke when everyone needed a laugh. It broke him, the way her hair plastered to her wet cheeks. How the tears clinged to her eyelashes. He had to resist every urge to not wipe them away.

"Do...do you think Rowan was right?" Arah asked thickly, eyes puffy and red-rimmed.

"What?" He asked, shocked that she would even consider that to be true.

"That I use my friends only if I'm in need of something."

Barnaby cursed himself for his lack of words he should have said. He _had_ to get better at this.

"Of course not. Arah, _none_ of us think that. Personally, i've lost count of the amount of times you have dropped everything to help me. You are one of the kindest, bravest, most selfless person I know. I am the luckiest bloke in the world to call you my friend." Barnaby confessed. Maybe it was more than he should have admitted, but he didn't care. Arah was one of his closest friends. The word _friend_ didn't seem to cut it.

Arah nodded, clinging to his kind words. She hiccupped, wiping her wet cheeks dry.

"I'm sorry. I guess it all just caught up with me, you know?"

"You don't need to apologize. Crying doesn't make you weak. My father... he thought it did. If I showed any sign of weakness he would..." Barnaby's eyes glazed over as he fell silent, a shadow falling over his face.

"Well. He was wrong- about a lot of things. It's okay to cry. That's what makes you human. That's what Poppins used to tell me, anyway."

"Who's Poppins?" she sniffed. A smile formed across his face as some unseen memory played in his head.

"He's our house-elf... _was_ our house-elf." he corrected himself, sadness swaying his features. "He was the closest thing I had to a friend growing up. When I was upset, I would go hide in this dingy cupboard and Pops would sit with me until I came around- till it was safe to come out again. He had taken care of me when my parents didn't."

Arah watched Barnaby recount his story. She knew he had come from a home of extreme dysfunction and abuse. He didn't talk about it much, he clearly didn't like to remember, but she always appreciated when he would open up to her about these things.

She had always wondered how Barnaby had become the caring and protective boy she had gotten to know these last few years when he had come from a home of such darkness and brokenness.

"What happened to him?" Arah questioned, not sure if she wanted to hear the fate of his old friend. Barnaby sighed, fidgeting with one of the rings on his fingers.

"My parents used to let me go days without eating as punishment. One night, Pops snuck me food after my parents had left- or so he thought. Pops got caught. Father didn't like that." his face fell, sadness filling his eyes. It was clear he wouldn't go into any further detail.

"I'm so sorry Barnaby. That's terrible." Arah whispered.

"I know how much you must miss your brother." he turned, looking at her, green eyes piercing hers.

She nodded silently, knowing that he too had lost someone he had clearly cared for and loved.

"I also know how much you take upon yourself to try and fix everything. Whether it be curses or other people's problems. It's just your nature. But you _have_ to share that load. You're not alone, learn to share those burdens. That's what your friends are there for." He smiled at her, squeezing her hand. The gesture alone made his heart race.

Arah blinked at the words that spilled out of him. It was a side of Barnaby she hadn't seen often. And he was right. She had unknowingly pushed her own friends away in an attempt to hide her "weakness". It was a mentality she would need to get over.

"I'll try." Arah nodded, smiling softly.

Barnaby sighed in relief, feeling accomplished that he had said the right things for once. Noticing his hand was still on hers, he drew it back to his own - cheeks flushed with the intimate gesture he had shared.

A comfortable silence passed as the two friends sat together in the quiet hallway, watching the sun slowly set behind the rolling green hills through the bay window. The golden light shined through, making the little particles of dust look like floating golden stars. She watched them dance and swirl in the air, giving her a sense of peace.

"Why don't you come with me to the Black Lake? I told Professor Kettleburn i'd help him catch a Plimpy for class." He smiled.

Arah chuckled as she imagined her one-legged professor and Barnaby chasing around the bird-like creature in the mud.

"As much as i'd love to see that- I really should start making my way towards detention."

"I can walk with you! I mean... if you'd like the company." He flushed slightly.

"I'd like that." she smiled softly.

Barnaby rose from the floor, offering his hand to her. Arah accepted it gladly, as he lifted her up. They began to walk their way towards the kitchens. Her hand seemed to tingle where his once had been. The warmth of his skin felt oddly...welcoming. In a way that seemed strange for just a friend. Arah shook it off- she was certainly just over-thinking things after such an emotional day. Right? She didn't fancy anyone nor had the time to-

"Don't you think, Arah?" Barnaby asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"What? Sorry." Arah said, stumbling over her words.

"I said there were worst detentions than kitchen duty, don't you think? At least you can try and swipe a few biscuits or sweets." He laughed.

"Not a chance. Pitts can be quite scary, really." Arah chuckled. "Jae does the swiping, not me."

Jae. Guilt sunk like a pit in her stomach. She had been awful to him- hopefully he wasn't too angry with her. Even though she certainly deserved it.

"I guess I should apologize to him for how I acted earlier. I was such a prat." She sighed.

"I'm sure it will be alright- Jae doesn't seem like the type of bloke to hold a grudge. He's probably already over it." Barnaby encouraged as he took the stairwell down to the bottom floor, passing the dungeons.

They approached the heavy wooden doors leading to the kitchen, the sounds of pots and pans clanging from the other side. Arah gripped the handle, before pausing- turning to her close friend.

"Thank you, Barnaby. For everything." Arah said huskily.

"Anytime." he smiled, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Smiling to herself, she walked into the kitchens- feeling better than she had in a long time.

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**A/N**

**Let me know what you think! I am toying with the idea of creating a series of oneshots from different points of the story based on the game. For those who play, let me know what you think! For those who don't, I encourage you to download the app and give it a go :)**

**Please leave a review if you want me to keep it going!****! **


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